


Change

by paradisewaiting



Series: Breakdown [9]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Dogs, Jeeps, M/M, Moving In Together, PTSD, Tags Are Hard, boo - Freeform, eren lost his job, eren's a sap, filler for other stuff, i'm also really tired, levi's cute, not helping, this actually happened to the vet i took my dogs to before and it sucked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:43:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3202949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradisewaiting/pseuds/paradisewaiting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was mid-March and things were finally starting to thaw. Levi was at Eren’s again, waiting for him to come home; he had been there for two days now. It wasn’t unusual for him to spend days at a time at Eren’s, or for Eren to spend weeks at a time at Levi’s; it was rare that they spent a night away from each other but it happened occasionally.<br/>Levi had given Eren’s apartment a thorough cleaning the first time he’d stayed there when Eren had to work. He’d wished he could replace several things in his small apartment, including the carpet and couches, but he only scrubbed them as clean as he could; he didn’t own anything here, he couldn’t make that decision. When Eren had come home that day he stopped abruptly in the entry as the door swung shut behind him. “D-did you clean my apartment?” Levi only cocked his head, like it was obvious. “It was filthy.” He had said as he curled into the blanket he had wrapped around himself on the couch. The next few days Eren had spent a lot of his time at home looking for things Levi had moved because apparently their placement didn’t make sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change

                It was mid-March and things were finally starting to thaw. Levi was at Eren’s again, waiting for him to come home; he had been there for two days now. It wasn’t unusual for him to spend days at a time at Eren’s, or for Eren to spend weeks at a time at Levi’s; it was rare that they spent a night away from each other but it happened occasionally.

                Levi had given Eren’s apartment a thorough cleaning the first time he’d stayed there when Eren had to work. He’d wished he could replace several things in his small apartment, including the carpet and couches, but he only scrubbed them as clean as he could; he didn’t own anything here, he couldn’t make that decision. When Eren had come home that day he stopped abruptly in the entry as the door swung shut behind him. “D-did you clean my apartment?” Levi only cocked his head, like it was obvious. “It was filthy.” He had said as he curled into the blanket he had wrapped around himself on the couch. The next few days Eren had spent a lot of his time at home looking for things Levi had moved because apparently their placement didn’t make sense.

                It wasn’t that Levi liked Eren’s apartment more than his house. It was that it was Eren’s and it felt like Eren’s and it smelled like Eren. If he started panicking he could lay in Eren’s bed and breath in his scent, let it relax him. He could pull out one of Eren’s too big sweaters whenever he wanted and wear it around, he didn’t have to wait for him to come back from work. Sometimes he’d cook supper and have it waiting for Eren when he came home. On days Eren worked late and he was over he’d refuse to actually go to bed without him, it didn’t feel right, his bed felt empty without him; Eren would come home and find Levi asleep on the couch with Kingston. By now Kingston had his own bed and set of bowls at Eren’s apartment, as well as a large supply of food and treats.

                Eren had surprised Levi with a sketch pad and set of pencils and charcoal at his place when he came over once; Levi didn’t leave for three days. Eren never really knew what Levi drew but he knew it was a habit and that it seemed to calm him down so he had stopped on his way to work one day and picked up a set of basic supplies for at his house. Levi had added 3 sketchbooks to that collection since then, he went through them so quickly.

                Today Eren was supposed to be working late. Levi was sitting cross legged at the table eating supper, chicken and rice, and flipping idly through a magazine. He almost fell out of his chair when Eren tromped through the door, throwing his backpack in the corner in a huff. “Don’t you work late tonight?” Levi asked, getting up and putting the extra plate of food he had wrapped up for Eren earlier on the table across from him. Eren walked past the table and into his room, Levi’s eyes followed him. “Yeah, I was supposed to but…” The rustling of fabric and the sound of Eren moving around. “We all got off early because we all got our termination notice today.” He huffed as he emerged from his room in sweats and a tshirt. “Termination notice?” Levi watched him sit down across from him, brows furrowed. “Yeah, we only have one vet at the clinic and she’s moving out of the province so the clinic is closing I guess.” Eren ate his food hungrily; Levi could tell he was mad. “I’m sorry.” Levi continued to just watch him. “What will you do now?” He asked quietly as he picked at his food. “I don’t know, find another job I guess, hopefully quickly too, I’ve only got a month before the clinic closes.”  
“Oh.” Levi didn’t really know what to say. He didn’t know how to make Eren feel better or fix his problem right now, but whenever Levi was upset Eren almost always knew how to make it better. He furrowed his brows and looked at his plate as he picked at his fingers. “Hey.”  Eren reached across the small table and grabbed his hand, stilling his fingers. “I’m sorry, this isn’t your problem, I shouldn’t have dumped it on you. I’ve got schooling, I can find another job. I’ll be fine.” Levi looked up and cocked his head. “You didn’t dump anything on me, you just answered my question.” ‘I just wish I knew how to fix this.’ But he didn’t, so what would be the point in bringing that up. Eren laughed and dropped his hand to pick up the empty plates. “You’re so analytical sometimes, it’s no surprise you were a lawyer.” Levi followed him into the kitchen to help him wash dishes.

                That night they both lay in bed silent for a long time before either of them fell asleep.

                It was a week later and Levi was sitting at home, flicking through channels while Eren was at work. Armin had come over the day before to help Eren improve his resume; Armin had been fascinated with Levi’s house as well and loved the library for a whole different reason than Levi did. Levi had barely touched a lot of the books in there for years now, but Armin had wound up in a corner, on the floor, with stacks of books around him, a look of wonder in his eyes. Today Levi still hadn’t figured out a way to help Eren with his predicament. He groaned in frustration and went upstairs to work out his frustration in the gym.

                Eren came home and showered and flopped on the floor of the gym while Levi ran on the treadmill. “How can you stand running? Or working out for that matter, I admire your dedication.” Levi looked down at him on the floor. “I got frustrated so I came up here.”  
“Frustrated? At what?”  
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. How was work? Did you photocopy your resume?”  
“Yes, mom, I remembered to photocopy my resume.” Eren rolled his eyes and watched Levi run on the treadmill. Levi flipped him off at the mom comment, but kept running.  “Work was okay, it’s awkward now though, there’s only two weeks left until the clinic closes.” He sighed and threw his arm over his eyes. “And I still haven’t found another job.” Levi kept running, kept thinking. He needed to figure something out.

                Levi cooked supper that night and they sat in the living room to eat and watch a movie. They were finished eating, plates set on the coffee table, Levi leaning against Eren as the movie played. It hit him all at once how he could maybe help Eren but it was a bold move and required courage he didn’t think he had. His felt his face flush at the thought and his chest start to pain and he was glad Eren was already holding him close and that it was dark in the room.

                Another week had passed and Levi still hadn’t said anything to Eren; still hadn’t figured out a way to tell him his thought. His panic attacks got worse when he thought about it and he had chewed his nails down to nubs trying to figure out how to do it. Eren still hadn’t found another vet clinic to work at and was starting to stress himself. Evenings when they were together had become tense.

                Tonight Levi was perched on the edge of the couch in the sitting room, Eren sitting on the floor below him while he rubbed knots out of his back. Eren frequently came home with a sore back from his job and this was the least Levi could do for him. He bit his lip, he had to get it out before the clinic closed, but he wasn’t sure what to tell Eren. “Eren?” He said quietly as he pressed into a particularly persistent knot. Eren just groaned as he leaned into Levi’s hands. The next part was the hard part, he didn’t know how to work up to it so he figured he’d just throw it out there and see what happened. He took a deep breath and let it out his nose slowly before he spoke again. “Move in with me?” He said it louder than he meant to in his anxiety and cringed. Eren turned quickly, eyes wide, causing Levi to start where he was sitting, hands coming up in front of him. Eren looked at him a moment before he spoke. “Really?” Was all he said and Levi felt his heart race. He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, he was terrified he had stepped over a line that he couldn’t come back from, so he just nodded. Before he knew what was going on Eren’s lips were against his, arms wrapped around him and he was being pressed against the back of the couch. He pounded at Eren’s chest and pushed him back, gasping for air. Their faces were close still as Levi looked up at him confused. Eren sighed and smiled, Levi could be so dense sometimes when it came to people. “Yes, Levi, I will move in with you.” He smiled and kissed his nose. He pulled away and sat back down on the floor beneath Levi, who raised an eyebrow and moved forward to continue rubbing Eren’s shoulders.

                Minutes passed before Eren piped up again. “Levi?”  
“Hmm?”  
“The clinic closes in two days, I can’t help but think…”  
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. But it’s not the whole reason. You living here makes more sense than us having separate places, and this way you don’t have to worry about rent or finding a new job right away. Less stress.” He answered quietly, less stress and no more nights without Eren.  
“Always so logistic.”  
Levi frowned. He leaned forward and kissed the base of Eren’s neck as his hands continued to knead the spots he knew to be the worst. He felt Eren’s arm move, felt his hand on the back of his neck, gently pulling. Eren’s head moved as he pulled him down and into a kiss. Levi’s hands stilled as their lips moved together and he slowly slid off the couch and into Eren’s lap; into Eren’s arms. They kissed long and slow, like they were discovering each other for the first time. “Why…Levi.” Eren breathed between kisses. “I want you around more.” Came Levi’s drawn out reply as Eren’s lips distracted him. “I’m already around most of the time.” More kisses, more distraction. “I want you around all of the time.” Levi breathed before pulling back and looking at his hands in his lap, face red, chewing fiercely on his lip. It wasn't what most people would say, but Levi wasn't most people. He was different and that’s what had drawn Eren to him to begin with. Eren smiled and wrapped his fingers through Levi’s, his other arm wrapping around him and pulling him in close, choosing not to say anything.

                Eren cried that night after Levi had fallen asleep.

                A few weeks later Eren had moved what he needed into Levi’s house, leaving behind a lot of it for Armin, who was taking over Eren’s apartment since it was bigger than his tiny studio apartment one floor below. Armin was excited; Jean was going to move into the apartment with him now that he had the room, Eren was not looking forward to it.

                Levi looked around his room. Everything seemed the same, mostly, most people wouldn’t even notice the differences. They wouldn’t notice the closet that used to be empty now open a crack, or Eren’s cologne sitting on the dresser, or Eren’s shoes in the corner. They wouldn’t notice the extra towel hanging off the back of the bathroom door or the phone charger plugged in on the other side of the bed. They certainly wouldn’t notice the extra toothbrush in the bathroom, or the watch that wasn’t Levi’s that was on the night stand next to the bed. Levi did though, he noticed all of them and more as he looked around his room.

                He heard his name being called and left his room in search of its source. He found Eren in the kitchen serving supper and went over quickly to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing him quickly before helping him bring the food to the table and sitting down. The smallest smile crept across his face as he thought about this being routine from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it took so long for this. I got to the end of Holiday Season and had no idea what to do to get to where I need be later. I have plans for later, I might fumble my way there thought so forgive me if thing's are a little off in this and the upcoming pieces.


End file.
